


Quiet Warmth

by ChibiTabatha



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Alcohol, Cabins, Friendship, Gen, Gift Fic, Hot Chocolate, Winter, but very minor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:21:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28126797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibiTabatha/pseuds/ChibiTabatha
Summary: Rhett and Link spend some quality time together before Christmas.
Relationships: Rhett McLaughlin & Link Neal
Comments: 6
Kudos: 19
Collections: Mythical Secret Santa 2020





	Quiet Warmth

**Author's Note:**

> Ducky wanted wholesome friendship, and I hope I delivered.

Link brushed snow from the top of his hair while glancing around the one room cabin. “Why’d I agree to this again?”  
  
Rhett stomped his boots against the mat just inside the door, getting most of the freshly fallen snow off. “Because we haven’t just gone out, the two of us. And it’s only a couple of days.”  
  
Link pushed at his glasses, the warmth of the cabin fogging them up. “Then it’s Christmas, then the daily grind. I know. But did you have to pick this cabin?”  
  
Rhett shrugged, motioning to the two beds on the far side of the room. “It could be worse.”

* * *

Except it was worse. The snow never let up.  
  
The vision outside the cabin windows was white, interspersed with black and green so dark it may as well be black. The cold still seemed to be seeping into his bones, the chill unbeatable.  
  
Rhett threw another log into the fireplace. “It’s colder by the windows.”  
  
Link shrugged before moving over to the other chair and collapsing into it. “I hope it lets up a bit tomorrow. I would love to go out.”  
  
“You look like you’d rather not.”  
  
He threw a shocked face at his friend. “How could you say that? We’re in a cabin in the woods. Of course we have to go hiking. So you can enjoy the woods, and I can enjoy the hot chocolate after.”  
  
Rhett laughed and conceded the point to Link.

* * *

Link slowly opened his eyes. The soft light from the windows caused him to stir before his alarm even bothered to rouse him. Soft sounds from the exposed kitchenette convinced him to roll over. “What time is it?”  
  
“Doesn’t matter. That's why we turned our alarms off. You want eggs and bacon? Or you just going to have some cereal?”  
  
Rubbing his hands over his face he looked at the blurry outline of his friend. “Yes.”  
  
Rhett laughed over the sound of the sizzling pan.

* * *

The snow crunched under their feet, breath puffing into sheer white clouds before dancing away on the breeze. “Look at that one, Neal!”  
  
Link blinked out of his mildly poetic train of thought before looking at the tree Rhett was standing next to. It was twisted and gnarled. Some of the bark was blackened where the tree was split. “Lightning?”  
  
“Yes, but come _look_.” He could hear the exasperation, even if he couldn’t see the eye roll from where he was standing.  
  
Coming around the trunk of the tree, Link got to see what Rhett was so excited about. “Another tree?”  
  
A small sapling seemed to be creeping out of the charred husk of the larger tree. “Nature is so fascinating, don’t you think?” Rhett snapped a couple of pictures on his phone. Link pulled his own phone out to snap a picture of Rhett. He sent it to the group chat with their wives, captioning the image ‘Trapped with mountain man, send help’.  
  
When Rhett received the notification, he shot a glare at the other man. Link could only laugh when Rhett scooped up snow to pelt him with.

* * *

He was cold and he was  _ damp _ . “This is miserable.”  
  
“Take off your socks and grab one of the blankets from beside the hearth. It’ll help keep you warm.”  
  
Doing as he was prompted, he took off his wet socks and grabbed one of the blankets by the fireplace. Wrapping it around himself he settled into the same chair as the day before. “This was fun. I shouldn’t have doubted you.”  
  
“Of course you shouldn’t have.” A steaming mug was placed into his range of vision. Link took it gratefully, watching little marshmallows bobbing in the dark liquid.  
  
“Camping somewhere warmer would also have been nice.”  
  
“Save your complaints and drink the hot chocolate.”  
  
Link laughed before taking a tentative sip of the hot liquid. “Bailey’s?”  
  
“Just a touch. We want to warm up.”  
  
He hummed softly before plucking one of the marshmallows out of the mug and popped it into his mouth. “‘S good.”  
  
“Thanks. Used the rest of your milk to make it.”  
  
Link spluttered slightly, while Rhett laughed. “Gonna have to eat bacon and eggs tomorrow.”  
  
He curled into his warm blanket, trying to pout but finding he couldn’t. He let his gaze roll over to his friend’s chair, the other blanket from the hearth draped over his legs while his own mug was cradled in his hands.  
  
Rhett smiled at him before letting his own eyes drift back to the fire. “I want seconds.” The corner of Rhett’s mouth twitched up in a smile while he hummed in acknowledgement. “I mean it. You threw so much snow at me. You’re the reason I’m cold.”  
  
“Okay. But you have to finish this one first.”  
  
Link huffed before letting his own eyes drift to the fire. Watching the orange and red flicker and dance, brown turning to black turning to white. The gentle crackle, the soft pops. It was very soothing after all the excitement of the outdoors and their impromptu snowball fight.   
  
Link didn’t know how much time had passed, time was a construct he couldn’t observe from this little cabin nestled in the woods. Rhett eventually got up to throw more wood into the fire, taking Link’s mug as he walked by.  
  
He listened as Rhett puttered about, pulling the blankets he had used to warm their beds the night before and folding them before placing them near the fireplace. Everything happening around him felt like it was happening to someone else. That he was somewhere else experiencing it through another person.  
  
The warm mug was pressed into his hand, and he took it gratefully. “Thanks.”  
  
“No problem.”  
  
When he sipped on the warm liquid again, it had a little more alcohol in it this time, but it was nice. A soft buzz in his blood, warmth bleeding through the blanket. He could hear Rhett turning the pages of a book, and Link wanted to pull out his phone and read an article he’d saved.  
  
Yet he didn’t move, the warmth swaddling him and slowly easing him down. Slowly blinking his eyes, he let his gaze fall towards the window, watching as the snow began to float down across the pane.   
  
Eventually his eyes fell shut in the warm quiet shared with his friend.

* * *

Scraping his windshield was abrasive in the crisp morning air. The sound of Rhett closing his car door was muffled against the trees around them. “You give Sue an extra kiss on the cheek for me, okay Link?”  
  
Link flicked his gaze over to the taller man, also scraping his windshield now. “Only if you give Momma Di a big hug from me.”  
  
“Of course.”  
  
“Deal.”  
  
The scraping turned from a discordant ruckus, into a synchronized monotony. It was something so small and so silly, it made Link laugh.   
  
“What’s so funny over there?”  
  
“Just laughing about how in-sync we can be.”  
  
Rhett also laughed. Eventually their laughs tapered off and they both stood by their driver side doors. “Merry Christmas Rhett.”  
  
“Merry Christmas Link. See you back at the studio?”  
  
“Yeah.” He paused for a moment, before slapping the roof of his car lightly. “We’ll call you.”  
  
“Alright. See you.”  
  
The sound of car doors shutting echoed around them, before both vehicles pulled onto the path leading back to main roads. It had been nice spending time with his best friend, but now it was time to get back to his family celebrations.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I hope you all enjoyed this!
> 
> Let me know what you thought below or over on [tumblr](https://chibitabathasloves.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
